Students flash for cause

By Emma Lipka
IV Leader Staff, Oct. 6, 2011

    If your dream has always been to breakout in random dance at a highly public event, then IVCC has activity for you!
    The planning began for this new and exciting event when Susan Monroe of IVCC’s Foundation Office approached Sociology Professor Christine Dove and convinced her to choreograph a flash mob dance.
    “She stopped me in the hall and because of my dance background, knew I would be interested,” said Dove.
    With 16 years of teaching ballroom dancing, and six years combined competing and performing, Dove exhibited more than enough experience needed to choreograph a small routine.
    The Flash Mob’s purpose is to promote Irish Night. A mixture of food, music, and dancing, Irish Night is in its eighth annual year.
    Community members, students, and IVCC faculty are encouraged to participate in a $40 dinner, drinks, dances, and a silent auction during the event, which is held in the spring.
    This year, the first ever Flash Mob is supporting Irish Night by sparking the interest of community members and getting them involved in local events.
    Any area function, the mob is likely to be found there dancing. So far the plan is for the mob to perform at two local events every month starting in October and lasting until about March.
    With members of the Flash Mob ranging from IVCC Admission Office workers, to students, to faculty, the hope is the more diverse the mob, the more interest will be generated in the event. For example, even Rick Pearce, the vice president of learning and student development, will take part by singing the first song the mob will be dancing to.
    As of Sept. 23, there were 75 participants in the Flash Mob.
    “We’re shooting for 100 mobbers!” Christine Dove exclaimed.
    With easy dance moves that can be learned in under thirty minutes, the Flash Mob is quickly becoming one of IVCC’s most accepting groups. If dancing is not for you, the mob needs volunteers to pass out fliers, hold banners, and throw T-shirts and Frisbees into the crowds.
    Interested in joining the Flash Mob? Sign up for the class on Blackboard. Click on the ‘Courses’ tab located on your personal Blackboard homepage. Select ‘Fall 2011’ in Course Catalogue and locate Flash Mob.
    Enrolling in the course will provide you with practice times and dates, and videos to help mobbers learn the dance.
    If students or faculty have any questions, contact Christine Dove by e-mailing her at christine_dove@ivcc.edu or stopping by her office located in D-321.
    For information on Irish Night, students should contact the IVCC Foundation Office at 815-224-0551 or stop by the office in Room C-202.